Belarus prepares to expand its visa-free zone

In October-December 2016, almost 2,000 tourists took advantage of new visa-free regulations to visit Hrodna Region. In response to the increasing amount of foreign tourists, Hrodna Region has started working on two important initiatives: visa-free railway voyages and launching...

Visa-free entrance in Hrodna Region. Source: vgr.by

In October-December 2016, almost 2,000 tourists took advantage of new visa-free regulations to visit Hrodna Region. In response to the increasing amount of foreign tourists, Hrodna Region has started working on two important initiatives: visa-free railway voyages and launching low-cost flights to Hrodna airport.

However, making railway services and the Hrodna airport accessible visa-free will not attract many more tourists if more tourist services are not first developed. Extension of the visa-free territory to the whole of Belarus and investment in the development of services would significantly improve the popularity of Belarus for tourists.

Two months visa-free

On 26 October, Belarus announced visa-free entry for tourists. According to presidential decree 318: 'Concerning the introduction of visa-free entry and departure for foreigners', tourists can stay up to 5 days on the territory of Hrodna Region

From 26 October to 26 December, almost 2,000 foreign nationals visited the visa-free territory. The majority of tourists (1,358 people) were Lithuanians, followed by Poles (795). Belarus has also attracted tourists from Germany, Spain, Italy, and Portugal, as well the USA and even Africa.

Aleh Andreychyk, Head of the regional Sport and Tourism Management committee, told Belta that the Old Town, zoo, farmsteads, and night clubs proved the most popular destinations for tourists. Although many tourists highlighted the cheap prices, the insufficient amount of English spoken in services became an important issue.

Opinions on visa-free regulation

In December, Hrodna.life conducted series of interviews with tourists who had came to Belarus according to the visa-free regime. A Spanish family which had recently visited Hrodna noted that Belarus should work more on its image and marketing if it wants to attract more tourists to the country, which remains unknown and under-discovered for many foreigners.

Another traveller from Brazil noted that Belarus is far from the typical Soviet country due to its architecture and developed technologies. Michal Sikorski, a Polish blogger, visited Hrodna and posted a video report. Michal called upon Belarusians to preserve their uniqueness and highlighted the architecture of Hrodna, as well as its night clubs.

Local activists from Hrodna have also noted the significant increase in tourists over the last two months. Yauhen Skarabutan told Radyjo Racyja that these are only the first steps on the way to a visa-free regime between Belarus and the EU.

The next step for visa-free regulation

The Head of Hrodna Region executive committee, Uladzimir Kraucou, reported that due to the increasing amount of tourists, the visa-free zone needs to be extended. Although this might sound as if the authorities are suggesting enlarging the visa-free zone, amendments to the law really only entail expanding visa-free access to railway and flights.

For now, it is only possible to enter Belarus visa-free by car or bus. Visa-free trains from Poland to Belarus would attract more tourists. When travelling by car, visitors have to purchase insurance and spend an unpredictable amount of time on the border. Train travel would remove these arguments.

Moreover, Hrodna Region is proposing to launch low-cost routes to Hrodna airport and include the airport in its visa-free zone. Today, the airport is very small and underdeveloped, with only several routes. Low-cost flights from the EU would require investment in airport equipment and better transportation with easy access to town.

The last proposal is still being discussed. Authorities suggest creating a new border checkpoint at 'Safieva – Lipchany'. Hrodna Region authorities note that they are working actively on extending visa-free regulation. Nevertheless, these proposals, even if quickly implemented, are insufficient for making tourism to Belarus truly popular.

Small steps, small achievements

So far, Belarus has taken small steps to liberalise its visa regime. The number of tourists to Belarus has significantly decreased since 2010. Introducing visa-free entrance to one of the Belarusian regions two months ago was the first attempt to open up the country. However, learning from the experience of neighbouring countries could help improve the model for developing local tourism.

For instance, Podlaskie region has created a centre for promotion of the region. The centre actively participates in campaigns aimed at attracting tourists to the region, primarily from Belarus. Recently, at the centre's initiative, the Bialystok Opera sold tickets to Belarusians in exchange for free visas. Creating such a centre in Hrodna could develop new methods of attracting tourists to the region.

The minor extensions suggested by Hrodna authorities have so far been ineffective in changing Belarus’s image and popularity among foreign tourists. Introducing low-cost flights to Hrodna will be unlikely to encourage many more tourists to visit Belarus until the airport is better-equipped and connected to the town. The low level of English knowledge, reflected in the lack of English or Latin writing in public spaces will create an additional obstacle for tourists.

Bialystok, the closest Polish town across the border with similar population, has 18 hotels on Booking.com. Hrodna only has fiveRead more

Extending the visa-free territory to the whole of Belarus would be much more effective. A recent example of successful visa liberalisation is Kazakhstan, where visas are no loner required for citizens of 37 developed countries for up to 30 days. The country aims to create a large international financial centre and receive direct investments from states such as Austria, Canada, and Sweden. Such a measure in Belarus would make the country more popular in the West. The increased degree of openness brought about by a visa-free regime could only be beneficial economically, socially, and culturally.

However, amending visa regulations will not attract a large amount of tourists unless services are developed first. At the moment, it would be savvy for Belarus to invest in the tourism sphere, at least in Hrodna Region. For comparison, Bialystok, the closest Polish town across the border with more or less the same population, has 18 hotels. Meanwhile, according to Booking.com Hrodna only has five. More hotels and hostels, along with better food and entertainment services, would encourage foreigners to visit Belarus more than once.

All that said, the successful introduction of the visa-free zone in Hrodna Region and the possible extensions to regulations still point to the intention of the country to open up and improve relations with the EU. The next logical step for Belarus could be the ratification of the cross-border movement agreement, which Poland and Lithuania have already approved, and cancellation of visas for developed countries, as in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

Summarising the civil society activity in 2016

Civilsocietyawards. In the end of December, several awards ceremonies took place to encourage the most prominent civil society leaders and events of 2016. Belarusian human rights community awarded its annual National prize. A newly-established award Zrabili!/Done! found the most effective community activists. On 17 December, the youth RADA Awards ceremony was held. On 23 December, the Assembly of NGOs for the eighth time delivered its Civil Society Champions Award.

Top 10 projects of Belarusian crowdfunding. Nasha Niva newspaper rates Top 10 of the most successful crowdfunding projects. The record year is $35,000 collected for seriously ill children with special needs, due to a sensational story in Imena magazine. Along with charity projects, crowdfunding campaigns to publish books or CDs, release games, improve the urban infrastructure were also successful in raising funds.

Bright People of 2016. Naša Niva newspaper composed a list of the most visible people and events of 2016. The Persona of the Year is named Kaciaryna Siniuk, the founder of Imena magazine, which collects money for people in need, the disabled, and orphans. Public activist of the Year is Andrej Kim, who translates foreign films in Belarusian and organises their screenings in the city cinemas.

Human rights

Only one-fifth of tourist attractions in Minsk is fully accessible for disabled. The Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities presented the results of the study on the availability of tourism in Minsk. 68 tourist attractions were studied – 36 of them were rendered radically inaccessible, 12 were marked as accessible. The initiative aiming to make tourism accessible was launched in the spring of 2016.

Feminist debates. Centre for promotion of women's rights Her Rights appealed to one of the profit companies with a demand to remove the advertising poster, where a woman in lingerie eats macaroni. The Centre believes that the ads is sexist and degrades women. The correspondence between the NGO and the company provoked heated discussions in social networks.

Watch DOCs Belarus. On 15-18 December, the Minsk venues CECH and TUT.by Gallery hosted the festival of documentary films on human rights Watch DOCs. This year the festival focused on such topics as youth struggle for life and dignity, a clash of East-West cultures, and people who are changing the world. A local NGO Zveno organised the festival that was supported entirely from local sources.

Situation in Belarus still frozen, human rights defenders say. Certain positive changes have taken place in the sphere of human rights over the past year, but the problem of their protection is still relevant. For example, the number of persons punished this year for holding peaceful assemblies has tripled; fines of $300-500 are a strain on protesters’ incomes.

Social activism

Almost 5 tonnes of clothing collected by UberGIVING campaign. On 10 December, for eight hours, KaliLaska/You are Welcome fund and Uber taxi collected 4.7 tonnes of clothing from the residents of Minsk. Those who could not participate in the action can bring clothes anytime to KaliLaska fund that distributes the clothes to people in need.

Social Boost Hackathon. During 48 hours non-stop (on 16-18 December) Minsk hosts social Hackathon to attract IT specialists to create projects useful to people. The Hackaton plans to create new projects and products in such areas as charity, ecology, education, urban environment, improving the quality of life of people, equal opportunities, etc.

Green and urban activism

APB BirdLife Belarus launches a wolf blog to allow to Belarusians to observe the life of wolves in the Bielaviežskaja Pušča through the Internet. A few wolves have special GPS-collars to monitor the daily life of predators. The initiators believe that such a study may change the stereotypical attitude to wolves as a forest pest and return them a deserved place a significant element of the ecosystem.

Protection of trees in Katoŭka. On 6-7 December, local residents and environmentalists defended the Katoŭka park in Minsk from municipal services, who tried to cut down trees. The confrontation came to the use of physical force. A Catholic church plans to be built in the park so 10% of the trees should be cut down. Environmentalists say deforestation is illegal, as the construction plan has not passed the necessary expertise.

The City show starts the 2nd season. A preliminary acceptance of applications is opened at the project website. The City has a unique format that brings together a professional reality show and implementation of urban projects. The City-2 is a continuation of the similar project that in 2016 released 11 video episodes demonstrating how grassroots activists are trained and then implement their ideas in local communities.

State-civil society interaction

MFA meets with Baćkaŭščyna NGO. On 13 December, the MFA Head, Uladzimir Makiej, met with the representatives of the World Association of the Belarusians Baćkaŭščyna/Motherland, Aliena Makoŭskaja and Nina Šydloŭskaja. The sides discussed the cooperation between the MFA and the NGO to work with compatriots abroad, as well as the arrangements to the 7th Congress of the Belarusians of the World.

Belarus Digest prepared this overview on the basis of materials provided by Pact. This digest attempts to give a richer picture of the recent political and civil society events in Belarus. It often goes beyond the hot stories already available in English-language media.